


Just Passing Through

by peggy_hamilton



Series: Band Of Brothers Imagines [21]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-22
Updated: 2019-08-22
Packaged: 2020-09-24 03:28:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20351641
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/peggy_hamilton/pseuds/peggy_hamilton
Summary: Babe befriends a nurse who is staying in Hageneau for the night





	Just Passing Through

**Author's Note:**

> originally posted on my tumblr @justthinkingofwaystoavoidbusses
> 
> original request: I have a request: can you write a Babe Heffron x Nurse!Reader? I was thinking that Babe meets the nurse during the episode “The Last Patrol” in a very similar style as the story of Doc Roe and Renee Lemaire. Except having a happy ending than anyone dying. Thanks! - anon

You were sick and tired of the war. You had been dragged all over Europe to aid stations, you worked in the middle ground between the front lines and the hospital - you were good at your job because you cared about them so the wounded soldiers always got the best treatment you could give, you were bad at your job because you cared and every time a man died you felt guilty for not saving him or when a man went AWOL you constantly wondered if his injuries would wind up getting him killed.

The smell of death followed you everywhere, you were always low on supplies and blood was stained onto your hands no matter how often you washed them. After all this time you wished you could have become desensitised to it all, but you never had been able to, the closest you had come was a numb resignation and a lingering feeling of hurt.

“Okay girls, load up into one of these houses,” your boss told you and the other few nurses still with you, you had been on the move for a while now as you moved between smaller towns on the outskirts of Belgium, they were going to set up and aid station over night and you would be moved out to it then, but for now you got to stay in a worn out house in Hagenau.

There was an airborne division occupying the town, a few of the wide eyes replacements had traced the nurses path as they rode by, clearly none of them had been with a girl in a long time (or ever), the veterans barely gave them a second glance. The cross you wore as part of your uniform was now an omen of death and a painful reminder of all the men who they had lost on the way, you didn’t blame them.

“Can someone report to whoever’s in charge?”

“I’ll go,” you offered, the other girls looked so worn down and tired that you’d rather they got some rest. Your boss smiled thankfully at you and you made your way out of the small house, just as you stepped outside mortar rounds started falling. You ducked out of the way and closer to the alcove of the building, knocking into a soldier who had had the same idea. “Sorry,” you apologised when the fire stopped.

“It’s no-”

“Someone’s been hit!” In a flash you were on your feet and dashing across the courtyard and trying not to slip on potatoes. You knelt down beside the soldier trying to find the source of the bleeding to stem the flow, you glanced at his face and immediately recognised the glossy look in his eyes. With a shaky hand you pressed two bloodied fingers to his neck to feel for a pulse, you silently confirmed he was gone just as the company medic slid down next to you. “I’m sorry,” you apologised, just loud enough for him and the surrounding men to curse at the unfairness of it all.

You stood up and made eye contact with that same soldier from before, you tried to give him a reassuring smile but it only came across as tight lipped and strained. You made your way to where you hoped to find someone in charge, as you entered the room you saw a blonde man on the couch underneath a blanket and some other soldiers milling about. “Is this HQ?”

“You’re in the right place,” the blonde man waved you in and you stepped forward and frowned.

“Are you ill?” you placed your hand against his forehead and you were unsurprised he had a fever.

“No,” he shook his head at the same time as a soldier with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth replied, “Yes.”

You nodded, used to soldiers denying any illness or injury, you rooted around in your small medical kit and handed him a tablet, “It’s all I’ve got but it’ll do some help,” you handed it to him.

“Really I’m fine,” he tried to wave you off.

“Nurses orders,” you insisted and he sighed and took the pill. You smiled happily just as someone called a stand for attention and some more men, who you assumed were higher ups, walked in.

You wanted desperately to leave while they started talking about a patrol across the Rhine but you still needed to report to them. “Tonight,” you heard them say.

“Tonight?” you blurted without thinking, turning all the attention in the room onto you, “Sorry, it’s just we don’t even have an aid station set up.”

“Who are you?” a lieutenant asked, clean enough looking that you knew he was a replacement.

You gulped, “Y/N Y/L/N, I’m one of the nurses. We’ve been billeted in one of the buildings overnight until they can set up an aid station out of town, I came to report that to you.”

The man with ginger hair nodded, “Thank you for coming to us, and I understand your concerns but orders are orders.”

You nodded quickly, “I understand,” you hated seeing men dying and without a proper aid station and a needless patrol you were sure that would happen. Thankfully you had enough tact to know when you were dismissed and you made a quick retreat.

It hadn’t been much warmer inside the house but the cold hit of the fresh air burned your face, your mind already going over your limited supplies for the inevitable injuries of that evening. You weren’t paying attention as you walked through the town, “Hey,” someone with a thick accent you couldn’t place called out to you.

Looking to your right you saw that same soldier from before leaning up outside the building having a smoke. You raised your eyebrows in a ‘what’ gesture and he continued, “You’re a nurse, ain’t ya?”

“Yes, did you need anything?”

He shook his head, “No, just wondering what you’re doing here.” He gestured around the two of you.

“Nursing.”

“I mean in the town, don’t you guys usually stay off the lines?”

“It’s not set up yet, will be tomorrow. We’re just passing through”

He nodded, “That’s fine then.” You nodded and bit your lip, you didn’t want to tell him about the patrol, he would find out himself soon enough.

“I’d better go,” you gave him a small smile then continued your way back to the other girls, hoping to get a small nap in before the patrol tonight.

—

The nap had done nothing to help your nerves, you knew something bad was going to happen. The feeling clung around in the air, and you didn’t doubt the others could feel it too. You caught the eye of that soldier again and gave him your best reassuring smile, he nodded at you then turned back to face across the river.

You and the other nurses were ushered into one of the houses and out of any cross fire that would eventually open up, it was just a waiting game now.

—

You heard the commotion downstairs and you were instantly on your feet and rushing down, “Someone get Doc!”

“Move,” you pushed your way through the men and to the soldier lying on the table, “What happened!”

“Ran into his own grenade fire.” By now the other nurses had come down, you were all pressing whatever bandages you could get to his numerous wounds, the company medic came crashing in trying to get the man, Jackson, to stay with you whilst helping to press down on the wounds.

Within a minute you knew it was useless but you were determined to try, the men began moving him but put him down when mortar rounds rocked the building, Jackson choked on his own blood and gurgled to death.

Your shoulders slumped and you wiped your bloodied hands on your clothes, you couldn’t help the tears that filled your eyes. Looking up you saw that soldier, you didn’t have it in you to smile and you shared a moment of exhaustion and understanding. Jackson’s body was covered and men tried to control the prisoners, there was nothing left for you to do so you and the nurses left.

They went back to your room but you stayed outside, the grounding feeling of the cool breeze providing some comfort. “Are you okay?” you heard a voice.

“Are you?” you asked him.

“No.”

“Me neither.” You let the silence drag, “I’m Y/N.”

“Babe.”

You quirked an eyebrow, “Babe, huh? That’s your name.”

He smiled a bit, “Yeah, or Heffron. But not Edward, only the nuns call me that.”

You huffed a laugh, “Well I’ll make sure not to do that. Did you know him?”

“Yeah, he was in my platoon. Good kid.”

“Aren’t they all.”

Your statement settled heavily on the both of you, “Yeah, I guess so.”

“Don’t think about it too much,” you advised and he gave you an unimpressed look, “What I mean is, don’t allow your emotions to overcloud your decisions until you know it won’t affect anything. You’ve got to keep your head in the game.”

“Is that what you do?”

“It’s what I have to do.”

You hadn’t even realised it but he had been walking you back to your billet, “I couldn’t imagine being a nurse.”

“I don’t know, I think you’d suit the dress.”

He laughed and nudged you lightly, “You know what I mean.”

You nodded heavily, “I do. Thank you for walking me.”

“No problem, will I see you around?”

“We go out first thing so only if you get injured, so I hope I don’t.”

He smiled, “Thanks. I’ll see you around.”

“See you around,” you ducked into the house, Babe in your mind. You knew realistically you didn’t want to see him again, you don’t think you could handle seeing him injured, but you hoped you would see him at some point in the future. Maybe back home when all this was over, you hoped.


End file.
